In my last blog post I talked about TV - specifically The Voice UK - and how recently I'd fallen out of love with television. First of all, I'm still keeping up with The Voice, despite its flaws, and have grown to love certain aspects of the show (no rubbish auditions, Jessie J) but I still have a few problems with the format, all of which are mentioned in the previous post and which I don't need to go over!
So in my opinion, TV hasn't been great lately, but over the past few weeks I've started to see change on the horizon, the light at the end of the tunnel if you will! It's very rare I find a new TV series I stick with. I'll admit this is mostly due to me missing the start of a series and just never bothering to catch up (I like an early night, shows that start at 10pm take an awful lot of effort for me to watch, a genuine excuse!) and so these days I try and make the effort to catch the first episodes of shows when they air. So far Glee is the only success story from this plan, the only show I've watched that I've been there from the beginning, but last week I added Once Upon a Time to this list.
Thanks to the Internet, I'd heard a lot about this show, mainly through fansites/entertainment sites such as Digital Spy and Hypable, as well as through Twitter (I follow a lot of Americans!). It seemed to be getting good reviews, and the lead star, Jennifer Morrison, drew me in as I was a huge fan of her whilst she was in House. So, what was Once Upon a Time all about? Even through reading bits and bobs about it online, I wasn't entirely sure. It had something to do with fairy tales - I'd figured that much out, the title pretty much gives it away! - but I didn't know much about the story, and I didn't want to know.
Any fan of American shows who lives in the UK knows the lengths you have to go to to avoid spoilers (if you're like me and actually wait for the shows to debut on British TV, rather than seek them out elsewhere) and so I decided to wait for it to appear on my telly, and avoid all spoiler-ish news posts about the show itself. Eventually, a month or so ago, trailers started appearing on Channel 5, and it was reported that the show would debut in Spring. And here it is! Episode 2 aired this past Sunday, and I've managed to see both episodes as they went out - an I achievement, given my feeble record with these things.
The show grabbed me straight away. We follow two stories, present day Emma Swan, working as a private detective, who is surprised when a young boy shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her son. Alongside this, we see the story of the past, the fairytale characters who were forced to leave their world thanks to a dark witch's curse, exiled to a present day American town with no knowledge of the fairytale characters they once were. Keeping up? Holding the story together is Henry (the young boy on the doorstep), a super sweet little kid obsessed with a fairytale book he received from his teacher. His fascination with the book? The story is real, and he's the only one who knows it. As the story goes on, we see Henry try to convince Emma that the people he's introducing her to are real fairytale characters. Understandably she sceptical. It really is a great story, and wonderful for those who love fairy tales (Snow White and Prince Charming, Rumplestiltskin, Sleeping Beauty all appearing or mentioned) and for those who love a great modern day, American drama. The flashbacks to the fairytale parts of the plot are visually stunning, making the whole thing feel even more magical.
How long this show will stay on terrestrial television is anyone's guess - it wouldn't surprise me if it turned up on Sky a series or two down the line (House, Glee) but I hope the wider audience gets a chance to see it whilst they can, it's unmissable. Once Upon a Time is on Channel 5, Sunday, 8pm.
Until next time,
Sarah x
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Monday, 26 March 2012
Opinion Piece - The Voice UK
In recent months I've found myself watching less and less television, as the quality of shows seemed to nbe on the decline, and I often found myself watching programmes that left me, well, bored. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few glimmers of hope in there, found mainly in documentaries (such as One Born Every Minute and Junior Doctors), American shows (House, Glee, New Girl) and returning shows (The Apprentice) but I wanted something NEW to jump out and grab me, and reunite me with my long lost love, good TV.
The Voice UK, which debuted on BBC One on Saturday night, seemed to fit the bill. I'd heard bits about the formula from the US show, but hadn't seen it in action, and having grown tired and fed up with X Factor, a fresh take on the reality singing show was just what I wanted.
So what's the premise? Blind auditions! Coaches instead of judges! Handpicked contestants! Sounds good so far, right? Big name coaches drew me in, too, with Jessie J, Tom Jones, Danny O'Donoghue and will.i.am making up the panel. So, the show kicked off, what did I think?
What the format did have going for it was the contestants. They're handpicked by BBC talent scouts, meaning all the acts and can sing, and to a pretty decent degree. Even the ones who didn't get through weren't being rejected because they couldn't sing. It was refreshing to go through a whole show and not have someone victimised by putting them through several rounds of off-screen auditions only for them to be laughed at by an audience and the judges. The joke acts became stale on X Factor years ago, and these days it verges on bullying. And there were some real stand out performances! For me J Marie Cooper stood out, belting out Jessie J's own song "Mamma Knows Best" and doing it in style.
There was one thing that left me hugely dissapointed, though. One of my biggest gripes with X Factor is the over-dramtic build up as we're introduced to each contestent. "Oh look, here's them pacing around looking nervous! Here's them in their bedroom singing! Here's their tale of woe accompanied by sad music!" It's been done before. I was under the impression that The Voice would be sob-story free, or there would at least be LESS of it. It's something that's been mentioned in all the promos. In reality, it's all still there. Yes the judges hear their voice without seeing them or knowing their name/story, but once they've turned around all that comes out anyway. So from now on, those who have got through WILL be judged on their image/sob story because they went and told the judges as soon as they were done singing. I don't know how the show works at later stages of the competition, and I hope it will stand apart from X Factor and continue to let the acts be themselves, but I could have done without all the build up and emotional waffle. My personal opinion, obviously.
As for the coaches, I thought Jessie J really stood out. She's clearly somebody who's passionate about music and wants the best for her acts, and as a singer songwriter who's fought her way to the top you can completely believe she's being truthful in all she says. Jessie clearly empathises with a lot of the acts, making them feel comfortable and I hope this will be reflected throughout the series as we see more of her influences on the acts. Tom Jones and will.i.am seemed to spend most of the time name-dropping, which got very boring very quickly, and the show is in danger of focussing too much on the coaches and not enough on the acts, but will.i.am showed a lot of personality and a surprising sense of humour. I'm still waiting for Danny to shine, which I think he will when it comes to acts who specialise in rocky/guitary stuff as that's really his forte. I'm glad there's somebody there so passionate about the musical side of things, and who will be great guidance to those who wish to incorparate an instument into their act.
It's not what I was expecting, and I'm not hooked. Those disappointments will stay with me but I hope that as the series progresses it turns into something I can take more seriously. I'll still be tuning in next week.
The Voice UK, which debuted on BBC One on Saturday night, seemed to fit the bill. I'd heard bits about the formula from the US show, but hadn't seen it in action, and having grown tired and fed up with X Factor, a fresh take on the reality singing show was just what I wanted.
So what's the premise? Blind auditions! Coaches instead of judges! Handpicked contestants! Sounds good so far, right? Big name coaches drew me in, too, with Jessie J, Tom Jones, Danny O'Donoghue and will.i.am making up the panel. So, the show kicked off, what did I think?
What the format did have going for it was the contestants. They're handpicked by BBC talent scouts, meaning all the acts and can sing, and to a pretty decent degree. Even the ones who didn't get through weren't being rejected because they couldn't sing. It was refreshing to go through a whole show and not have someone victimised by putting them through several rounds of off-screen auditions only for them to be laughed at by an audience and the judges. The joke acts became stale on X Factor years ago, and these days it verges on bullying. And there were some real stand out performances! For me J Marie Cooper stood out, belting out Jessie J's own song "Mamma Knows Best" and doing it in style.
There was one thing that left me hugely dissapointed, though. One of my biggest gripes with X Factor is the over-dramtic build up as we're introduced to each contestent. "Oh look, here's them pacing around looking nervous! Here's them in their bedroom singing! Here's their tale of woe accompanied by sad music!" It's been done before. I was under the impression that The Voice would be sob-story free, or there would at least be LESS of it. It's something that's been mentioned in all the promos. In reality, it's all still there. Yes the judges hear their voice without seeing them or knowing their name/story, but once they've turned around all that comes out anyway. So from now on, those who have got through WILL be judged on their image/sob story because they went and told the judges as soon as they were done singing. I don't know how the show works at later stages of the competition, and I hope it will stand apart from X Factor and continue to let the acts be themselves, but I could have done without all the build up and emotional waffle. My personal opinion, obviously.
As for the coaches, I thought Jessie J really stood out. She's clearly somebody who's passionate about music and wants the best for her acts, and as a singer songwriter who's fought her way to the top you can completely believe she's being truthful in all she says. Jessie clearly empathises with a lot of the acts, making them feel comfortable and I hope this will be reflected throughout the series as we see more of her influences on the acts. Tom Jones and will.i.am seemed to spend most of the time name-dropping, which got very boring very quickly, and the show is in danger of focussing too much on the coaches and not enough on the acts, but will.i.am showed a lot of personality and a surprising sense of humour. I'm still waiting for Danny to shine, which I think he will when it comes to acts who specialise in rocky/guitary stuff as that's really his forte. I'm glad there's somebody there so passionate about the musical side of things, and who will be great guidance to those who wish to incorparate an instument into their act.It's not what I was expecting, and I'm not hooked. Those disappointments will stay with me but I hope that as the series progresses it turns into something I can take more seriously. I'll still be tuning in next week.
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